


Watch the Sunset Disappear

by ByAStream



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Peter Parker Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:53:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26093686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ByAStream/pseuds/ByAStream
Summary: In the wake of the final stand against Thanos, you find comfort in the sunset and an old tradition you had with Tony.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Reader, Steve Rogers/Reader
Kudos: 20





	Watch the Sunset Disappear

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr: jbbarnesnnoble.tumblr.com
> 
> Partially Canon Compliant (Tony and Nat still died); Brother/Sister like relationship with Peter; references to underage drinking

It had been a long day. You promised Steve you’d meet him at home. You knew Bucky, Sam, and Wanda would be staying with the two of you for a while. You’d bought a piece of land and built a house a couple years prior, with room for your friends. The compound wouldn’t be functioning for a while. You and Steve had been together for years now. He knew how hard you were taking things. You had a small cooler, filled with beer. You sat on the edge of the dock, watching the sunset. 

Losing Natasha was hard enough. But Tony, losing Tony devastated you. You may have sided with Steve when everything happened, but Tony was the one who had saved you. He had practically raised you. Sure, you had your parents, but Tony, even in his playboy days, watched out for you. Of course, he was also the one who gave you your first beer when you were sixteen. How many late night talks had you had with him over the years? Even before the Snap had taken so many. Tony remained, ever the big brother, pseudo-parental figure in your life. 

You weren’t surprised when Peter Parker sat down beside you. You popped the cooler open and handed him a bottle after you opened it.

“Miss....Agent...I’m not old enough to drink,” he said. You snorted. 

“I was your age when Tony gave me my first beer. My grandfather had just died and he was important to me. So, Tony grabbed a cooler, said we were going for a walk. He had a place outside the city that his parents had left to him. On a lake, like this. We drove out there, I forget what song was playing. We didn’t talk. Not until we got to the dock. People have this idea of Tony. Playboy, billionaire, you know? We might not be blood, but he was my brother. Always looking out for me. So, we get to the dock and we sit down. He opens a beer and hands it to me and I go “Tones, I’m sixteen, I can’t drink” and he goes “just trust me”,” you said.

Peter looked at you with a sad smile. You raised an eyebrow and raised your own beer, taking a sip. You watched as he cautiously did the same thing before he spit it back out. 

“You didn’t let me finish. I took a sip, spit it out and said “that’s the nastiest thing I’ve ever tasted”. Tony laughed harder than I’d ever seen. That’s non-alcoholic beer by the way. Say what you will about Tony Stark, but he always found a way to make a situation seem a little better. At least in my eyes,” you said.

“Why beer? What was the point? And why do you have non-alcoholic beer?” Peter asked. You chuckled at his line of questioning. You’d had a feeling he’d come find you. 

“I think he just wanted to see me laugh. It was two weeks after my grandfather died. I...I took it hard. I was shutting everyone out. I wasn’t coping. He said it was a moment of quiet where I didn’t have to say anything if I didn’t want to. Just enjoy the sunset and drink a beer with a friend. Well, a non-alcoholic beer. It became our thing. Even when I got older and could legally drink,” you said. 

The pair of you sat in silence for a while. You worried about him. He had been one of the dusted. You knew it couldn’t be easy for him. The last time he’d seen you, the two of you were much closer in age. He’d been around often enough that you’d gotten to know him. You’d help him with his English and History homework and in return, he’d help you with some of the science coursework you’d been struggling with in university. 

“It’s not fair. Mr. Stark...Tony... was finally happy and now he’s dead. Why did it have to be him?” Peter asked his voice breaking.

“Because it was always going to be him. Whether we like it or not, it was always going to be him. I know it. He died a hero. And it sucks for us. It really does. You know, he and Steve...they hadn’t spoken much before this. He still spoke to me, we mended those fences a long time ago. But. He and Steve, they still had a lot to work out. There’s a lot of unfinished stories that feel unfinished with Tony. But that’s okay. Some stories never get the ending we think they deserve. We’re his legacy. Us, Harley. Morgan especially. 

We’ll all tell her stories about her father. You’ll tell her about how he recruited you to help take on Captain America, about how you went against him to take on someone much bigger than you, which, by the way, I don’t think I’d ever seen Tony turn that shade of red. Truly, an accomplishment. And we’ll tell her about how he saved the world. He was Iron Man. But he was also her father. He was our friend. Our mentor. He was human,” you said. 

“Is it wrong of me to wish someone else had done it? Someone else had worn it? Wishing that someone else was dead?” he asked, finally breaking down. You pulled him into a hug.

“No. No, it’s not. It’s a natural reaction, Peter. You’re grieving. We all are. Everyone handles that differently. It only becomes a problem when you let it fester, when you let it consume you. It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to cry, to scream at the world that it isn’t fair. But at some point down the line, we all have to move forward,” you said. The two of you sat like that for a while. By the time you were driving him to where he and his aunt were staying, the sun had long since set. It was past eight-thirty when you walked in the house. Steve was in the living room with the others, watching a movie. 

“You were gone a while,” Steve said after kissing you when he walked into the kitchen.

“I was talking to Peter. We should have him and his aunt around for dinner sometime,” you said. 

“How’s he doing?” Steve asked. 

“He’s hurting. He’s angry. We talked for a while. Gave him a beer,” you said. Steve said your name sharply and you laughed.

“Relax, Cap. It was non-alcoholic. Tony did the same thing when I was Peter’s age. Breaks the ice a bit. You take a sip, spit it out because it is nasty, have a laugh,” you explained. He shook his head at you, a smile on his face as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

“I’ll be alright. What about you?” you asked. He kissed the top of your head before he spoke.

“I’ll be alright,” he echoed. The two of you stood there for a moment longer, savoring one of the first moments of true peace together since the battle. You hoped in that moment that both Tony and Natasha knew their sacrifices had been worth it. You still had a service for Natasha to get through, but you knew. Things would be alright eventually. One day the sun would rise and you’d make it through a day without crying over the loss. You’d smile at the memories instead of wanting to yell at the universe that is wasn’t fair. One step, one day at a time. 


End file.
